Burn Eternal Novels & Stories

If he defends me, he confirms their suspicion. "The South does not need ornaments," a male Elder adds, his voice a guttural bass. He gestures to the massive, sunken stone pit in the center of the hall—the Eternal Flame. It is currently a bed of dying embers, glowing a faint, angry orange. "The first trial is not of the blade, but of the Hearth. It is a trial of Endurance and Provision."

Then, he spread his arms wide open, and I ran towards him and hugged him, welcoming the heat into my veins. It was painful...but it was just a dream so I didn't feel it. But I knew it was because I kept groaning and screaming as it burnt my flesh, but not for a second did I think about letting go of him. I was willing to be with him even if it caused me pain. The spotlight where we sat down under, suddenly went off and everywhere became dark. The only thing I could see was the burning chair, Levi holding me to him and I... burning in his arms.

I use my better judgement and hold off until I get to the casino. Forty-five minutes later I’ve checked into my room and am now getting my belongings organized for the night. I don’t plan on leaving the room, so I start the shower and turn on my portable speaker. I sit on the bathroom floor that is now covered in the extra pillows from the bed and let the sound of water and music sooth me. I let my head fall back against the wall and start trying to unravel the emotions that have me on edge. As my emotions rise, I feel my eyes start to blur from the tears that are building up inside of them. I take a deep breath to calm myself and then I open a bottle of Martini-Rossi and light a cigarette.

Dang, I can’t remember the code! Did my dad say 9122? No, it had an eight in it, I think. I can hear heavy gunfire downstairs and I can’t help but feel overwhelmed. I start to cry because I literally can’t still remember the freaking code! Okay, okay, I need to calm down. Despite the commotion downstairs, I take in a deep breath and I try to calm myself. “9182.” I say to myself and it clicks in my head. That’s the code! “9182.” I say again as I press the numbers on the keypad.

"W-Why are they.... What is this?" "This is the royal crypt. Every member of the August line that was not killed and burned in battle is here in something like death. We call it Eternal Sleep and it is unique to the August line." "Eternal?" "There are no known cases of one waking up after they have entered Eternal Sleep. They typically fall into it when it's nearing the end of a normal vampire's life or when they have taken on too much damage." Daphne's hands trembled, "W-Will I fall into this?"

She was not one of them. The mama then motioned for her and the other young lady to follow to the etiquette test. There she met with the rest of the ladies and there were only 20 ladies left from the original 50. More than a half of the ladies were eliminated in this test. A straight line was made with white sand and three pieces of jadeite were put on her shoulder and her head. “Walk the entire length of this white sand line. Those who drop their jadeite first will be eliminated.”

The fire took everything. My name. My body. My memories. All dissolved into white-hot nothing that burned beyond pain, beyond thought, beyond existence itself. I was a scream without a throat, terror without a mind, agony without flesh. Then Derek's voice, not heard but felt: *I'm here.* His presence wrapped around whatever remained of me, lightning dancing with flame. The mate bond between us became the only real thing in a universe of burning. I clung to it like a lifeline while the Eternal Flame unmade and remade us over and over again.

And with that, our forever truly began. And this will never end. This will last longer than eternity. THE END~

Most of her turned to ash, but one tiny ember remained. It hovered above the ashes, glowing red, pulsing like a heartbeat. The very last spark of her eternal flame. I lunged through the fire and caught it with my bare hands. It burned me—seared my palms until the flesh blistered and blackened. But I didn't let go. I pressed it against my chest, right over my heart, and whispered: "I'll keep you safe. I'll bring you back." That ember—small as a grape, warm as a dying coal—became everything.